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Teaching Brownback a Lesson

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on March 10, 2009 - 11:05am

It has been a rough couple of weeks for Sen. Sam Brownback.

Since he announced that he was supporting Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, he has watched the Family Research Council pull out of the Values Action Team meetings he oversees and his reputation as a pro-life champion has taken a beating.

And now, to make matters worse, his home has been reportedly burglarized:

Burglars made off with thousands of dollars worth of property stolen from the Topeka home of U.S. Senator Sam Brownback last week ... The Senator's wife Mary Brownback returned home around 1:30 p.m. Thursday to find the items missing. Officials say a computer, a television, a video game, a check book and 100-pieces of jewelry were taken.

At least there is some good news on the horizon for Brownback, coming in the form of this admission by one of his biggest critics that pro-life activists have a very short memory and probably won't hold his current heresy against him when he runs for governor next year:

A pro-life activist predicts that if Senator Brownback (R-Kansas) runs for governor in his state, he will still receive the support of the pro-life movement despite his controversial decision to support the nomination of pro-abortion Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services secretary.

...

Mark Crutcher, the president of Life Dynamics, Incorporated, says pro-life Republicans know they can "pull a stunt" like Brownback did because pro-life activists often have short memories.

"Right now there's probably a lot of anger in Kansas, I would assume, and a lot of people are sickened by Brownback's sell-out," Crutcher shares. "But let's say that he runs for governor and he continues to tell people, 'Oh, I'm pro-life. I did that for some other reason' -- or whatever excuse he uses for his sell-out."

According to Crutcher, that explanation may just work on the voters. "The thing that bothers me [about] the history of the pro-life movement is that once the initial anger and fervor of the moment goes away...if he runs against some pro-abort Democrat, we'll...rally behind this guy."

Last week, Crutcher was blasting Brownback for his willingness to "throw the unborn under the bus for some political advantage" and saying that the pro-life movement has been "stabbed in the back by people like Sam Brownback so many times" that it should have learned its lesson by now.

But apparently the only lesson to be learned from this entire ordeal is that Republican politicians can stab pro-life activists in the back whenever it suits their needs and fully expect to maintain their political support.

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Brownback Accused of Stabbing Pro-Life Movement in the Back

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on March 6, 2009 - 11:07am

Over the last few days we noted that Sen. Sam Brownback has been pilloried by various anti-choice activists for his decision to support the nomination of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be the next Secretary of the Health and Human Services, which culminated with the Family Research Council announcing that it was withdrawing from his "Values Action Team" over his stance.

And frankly, it doesn't look like the outrage is going to dissipate any time soon as more and more activists continue to pile on and ratchet up their rhetoric:

Mark Crutcher, president of Life Dynamics, Incorporated, says Brownback -- a self-professed pro-life Catholic -- "abandoned" the unborn by backing Sebelius.

"I think it's typical of what we've seen over the years when somebody's commitment to the unborn is political rather than a core value with them," says the pro-life leader. "It's like the difference between a politician and a statesman."

Crutcher says Brownback's desire to become the next governor of Kansas may be driving his support of Sebelius. "All of Brownback's flowery words in the past don't really mean much," he says. "When push comes to shove, he'll throw the unborn under the bus for some political advantage -- and that's what's happened here."

In addition, Crutcher says the pro-life movement has been "stabbed in the back by people like Sam Brownback so many times" that the movement should have learned the lesson that the measure of a pro-life lawmaker is not what he tells you he believes, but rather what he will do to protect the life of the unborn.

On a related note, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, who last year said that Sebelius should stop receiving Communion until she publicly repudiated her stance on abortion and made a "worthy sacramental confession," has weighed in on her nomination, calling it "particularly troubling." 

He also sat down with Our Sunday Visitor for a discussion about the nomination, saying that he "personally [finds] it offensive that [Obama] would choose a pro-legalized-abortion Catholic to head this office" and faulted Catholics who are supporting her, saying that "they certainly can’t support her because she’s faithful in living the teaching of the Church on the life issues."

Asked by the Kansas City Star if that position meant that Neumann would now be telling Sen. Brownback that he too should not be taking communion, a spokesperson said it was unlikely:

A spokesman for the Kansas City, Ks. archdiocese said Thursday that Archbishop Joseph Naumann is unlikely to suggest to Sen. Sam Brownback that he not take the sacrament of communion, as he has for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

"I don't think he's (the Archbishop) going to have a position on him (Brownback)," said Carroll Macke, spokesman for the archdiocese.

...

Asked if the Archbishop's views on Brownback constituted a double standard, Macke said: "I don't know."

That is about the only good news Brownback has gotten on the Sebelius-front since he announced his support for her confirmation ... and when not getting barred from receiving communion is the best thing to happen to you, you know times are tough.

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